It’s the most scariest time of the year

It's the scariest time of year! But forget about ghosts, goblins and ghouls; far more frightening are the terrifying things that can happen to your money.

There have been some truly terrifying days on Wall Street over the years, from the Great Depression of 1929 to Black Monday in 1987. Of course, there was also the so-called Flash Crash of 2010.

"On May 6, 2010 the market started off having another bad day, amidst the worries about the Greek financial crisis and the potential follow-on effects throughout Europe. Without warning, though, a bad day turned into a rout and the Dow was suddenly down as much as 9% intraday in less than an hour and many well known stocks, like Procter & Gamble and Apple momentarily had absurd bid prices. Reading the regulators' reports since the Flash Crash, it's clear that nobody, as yet, knows exactly what caused this breathtaking intraday panic."

But perhaps no day was more unsettling in recent memory than the day Lehman Brothers crashed in 2008.

"The whole thing is a nightmare…this is the worst of the worst, and the only thing you can say is we are in a systemic crisis."

Closer to home, recall the made-in-Canada Halloween massacre of 2006? On Oct. 31^st of that year Ottawa made a surprise announcement that it would tax income trusts, the Financial Post recalls. It was a change that jolted the investment landscape. Now, the Post warns, the tax bogeyman is back.

"The Canadian government's R&D Review Expert Panel released a report on the efficacy of various economic-stimulus programs intended to increase private sector R&D and technological innovation. The report, also known as the 'Jenkins Report', contains a surprise: It recommends sweeping and significant changes to the existing Scientific Research and Experimental Development tax credit regime."

Of course, there are other horrific things that can haunt one's finances, notes Investopedia. From identity theft, insufficient travel insurance and/or uninsured accidents at home, to being the victim of a financial scam.

Moreover, Investopedia offers tips on how to get rein in credit card bills to avoid being subjected to the "night of the living debt".

CBS points out it's the stock market that continues to spook Americans and given the economy of late, you'll be forgiven for thinking you've made it through the haunted house only to discover that the zombies are real and they're chasing you into the parking lot. To that end, GoalMine co-founder Rimmy Malholtra shares five of the most terrifying investment mistakes one can make.

"It's tempting to want to jump in with the winning team, whether they won in sports or investments. But the problem with buying "winning" investments is that they rarely repeat. In fact, investing in winners in the wake of a win is almost sure to be a losing strategy. Why? The market is supposed to price shares based on expectations of future profits and at no time are expectations higher than in the throes of a good win."

But horror movies could teach economic policy makers a thing or two too, the Wall Street Journal suggests. Horror movies are about confronting adversity and tackling problems. Thus, they offer some broad, light-hearted yet serious lessons for economic policymakers trying to negotiate the best economic outcomes for their national economies and a novel lens through which to understand the broad sweep of economic history.

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